Bits of Blonde
by Megane no Ohime-sama
Summary: My take on the official EdWin Week (503week) from May 1st to 7th on Tumblr. These are oneshots set at different points in time and include some AUs. Some of these MIGHT transform into something bigger at some point, but for now, enjoy these. R&R! Cross-posted on Ao3 and tumblr.
1. Day 1: Childhood

_The kids' names, their ages and the plot are the only things that are mine._

* * *

Their Childhood  
(Day 1: Childhood)

Even in the middle of winter, when she knew Briggs would probably be half-closed down with the blizzards and ever-present snow, here at Resembool, it was just comfortably cool. Especially after the unbearable summer. The last time Resembool had seen snow, Winry remembered, was the year after she and Ed got married. Six years, now. Before that was that one time before Trisha's death.

She remembered the snowman Ed had alchemized. He was such a show off. She smiled fondly at the memory of his antics while surveying the fridge for dinner supplies. "Ed," she called. "We need groceries for dinner!"

The boy, Erwin, was at the dining table. He'd managed to sneak one of his father's books out of the study. He stiffened at the sound of his father's name, and looked at his mother with a lost puppy sort of look. _Please don't give me away..._

Winry sighed and smiled knowingly, but she couldn't reply before Edward groaned from upstairs, meticulous concentration obviously destroyed. "Make a list of stuff we need. I'll run to the market later," he called. The sound that usually accompanied his steps, a soft step followed by a heavy one, didn't make the floorboards upstairs creak. Erwin breathed a sigh of relief.

Winry picked Wendy, their daughter, up from her high chair and headed for her workstation. Wendy giggled when she was tickled on the way to the door.

"I'll make that list and help you hide before your father comes down, okay?" she told her son, keeping her voice low so her overly studious husband wouldn't overhear. He nodded enthusiastically. "Good," Winry replied, "now behave yourself while I'm gone."

Ten minutes later, Winry was whipping up a simple lunch with what remained of the groceries from two days ago, while Ed read through the list he'd been handed. He had one hand patting Wendy while Erwin eyed him nervously. "Why do we need this much milk, again?" he asked, exasperated.

"Meel!" Wendy exclaimed excitedly, her tiny hands paused in the act of licking her father's fingers in order to say the word.

Her first word.

Everyone stared at the one-year-old wide eyed, before Edward turned to his wife.

"D-did she just say…" he started, gulped, and then finished, with his nose crinkled in disgust, "milk?"

"Meel yum!" Wendy said again even more enthusiastically than before. Ed groaned. The rest of them burst into a fit of laughter.

"What the hell is so funny, damnit?" Ed all but screamed, causing the laughter to go up a notch. "Ugh!" he grumbled and stalked off.

Just as the sound of the front door swinging open reached them in the kitchen, Winry called, "Make sure the tomatoes are fresh." She didn't get a reply, though, and she sighed. He was never going to change, was he? Then again, she couldn't really blame him. His princess daughter's first word was the thing he hated the most. "The irony," she said quietly, shaking her head.

Wendy, now without her favorite plaything, licked a spoon and made gargling noises. Mostly, though, she kept saying "Meel" under her breath, as if to memorize the word. One look at her the minute after she was born, and Granny had said she would be exceptionally smart, Winry remembered.

"Mom," Erwin said, his voice laced with curiosity, "What's 'irony'?"

Turning the stove off and putting the food away to cool, Winry turned to her five-year-old son. The book he was hiding while Edward was in the room was now out once again. But, it lay almost forgotten on the table in front of the young Elric, while his face bore an expression of curiosity. It was a face she remembered from a long time ago, when Ed hadn't started studying Hohenheim's notes and materials, and was still an attentive student at school. That, she remembered, had lasted only a few months. Once he found a way to raid the study, he and Al were sloughing through it at full throttle.

"Hmm," she said, a hand on her chin, pretending to think. "What does 'irony' mean? I wonder." Stealthily, she came up beside him and began to tickle. The kitchen was filled with the children's high-pitched laughter.

"M-Mom, stop it!" Erwin said in between, fits of giggles.

"Eye-ron?" Wendy asked, when the tickling stopped. This made Winry stop. Today sure was a big day.

"Irony," Winry started, "is when your father hates milk, but Wendy's first word is 'milk'." Winry explained. Erwin nodded in agreement. He thought for a bit, then pulled the book towards him again. It amazed her how much the kid took after his father.

Before long, though, it had lost his attention. "Mom?" He called once again. "You and Dad and Uncle Al all used to be kids, right?"

Not pausing in the act of cooing Wendy, Winry replied, "Of course, Erwin. Everyone is a kid at some point of their life. Why do you ask?"

Erwin seemed to consider his next words carefully before saying, "What was it like being you guys?" His voice was soft, uncertain, and again, his likeness to his father showed through. As if the blonde hair a more golden shade than hers and the golden eyes weren't indication enough.

In the past few days, she'd caught him glancing at the armor head on Ed's desk again and again, as well as the screws and nuts still embedded in his father's right shoulder. They'd only told him it was childhood accident.

After all, the scarred tissue was definitely due to a lost limb, and whoever heard of automail limbs being replaced by flesh-and-bone ones?

Winry tried to smile the dread of letting him in on the truth away, and said, "How about I show you two some photographs?"

Wendy placed her hands on both sides of Winry's face to draw her attention, and when she had it she nodded vigorously.

The wooden box was just slightly dusty, thank god, because they'd cleaned all the nooks and crannies in house so there would be no mildew. Once she'd retrieved it from the least used corner of her workshop, Winry lightly dusted it off. Inside, was a bundle of all the old pictures Granny had collected over the years wrapped in a protective plastic.

She'd cleared up a large space in the middle of the room where Erwin and Wendy now sat, the older looking around at the various parts of automails strewn across the room, while Wendy simply picked up a small wrench and began to play with it. Winry carried the small box full of photographs over to where her daughter had managed to wedge the wrench into the crack between two floorboards. Putting the tool aside, she pulled Wendy on to her lap and opened the box.

Erwin was awed by the number of photographs. "You guys sure had a lot of fun as kids, huh?" he said.

Winry smiled ruefully at the remark, before pulling the stack out of the clear plastic covering. The topmost picture was sepia, of her parents, Granny and her. They all had smiles on their faces, and Granny looked less like the tiny hunched bag of sarcasm that she was and a bit more like her youthful self. Only a bit. Winry was in her mother's arms, a little older than Wendy was now.

The next picture was of the Elrics, sans Hohenheim, frozen in time with their mirth and unadulterated fun and happiness. Winry remembered Granny saying this was taken right before Trisha's sickness was diagnosed.

Winry had Ed and Al caught by their collars for the next picture. She smiled like a victor and Al just casually waved at the camera while Ed scowled. This was one of her personal favorites.

"That's Grandpa Urey and Grandma Sara," Winry explained. "And that's Grandma Trisha."

Both children stared at the pictures. "Grandma Trisha and Sara were really pretty," Erwin finally said.

Winry now showed them the pictures which were mostly her, Ed and Al. Many of them were of the time when Al was still in his armor. The time when she was so scared for them, when she didn't know what would lead to what, and all she could do was keep her mechanic skills fresh so she could whip Ed an automail as fast as she could.

Those years had been fitful, even for her. She had a home, Granny, Den. She still had family; blood relatives. All Ed and Al had was themselves. Hohenheim had counted on Trisha keeping them out of trouble, but she could only do so much once she fell ill.

Granny had constantly worried about them. _"They're Hohenheim's kids. They'll stay out of trouble for only so long."_ She'd said.

"Hey, Mom," Erwin's voice pulled her out of her momentary flashback. "Who's inside this armor?" he said, pointing to Al's armor in one of the pictures. "It's in this one too," he pulled out another picture, "and this one."

Winry felt dread fill her. What would she tell him? She could say something simple, but he would find out sooner or later.

"T-that's your Uncle Al," She finally said, in a quiet voice. "He… got stuck in it for a while."

Erwin seemed to pick up on how melancholy her voice sounded. His gaze shifted to the pictures he held. "He must've been really sad, huh?" He continued to gaze at them while Wendy resumed saying "meel" again. She'd spotted a picture that had a milk bottle in it somewhere. "Why's dad's right arm automail?" he said after a while.

Winry was once again at a loss for what to tell her son. They'd never thought about this. What would they tell their kids when they asked? Finally, she opted for the simplest explanation she could muster.

"After your Grandma Trisha died your Dad and Uncle Al got into an accident. It took away your Dad's arm and leg, and Al got stuck in that armor. They… uh… had to stay like that for a few years before they managed to fix things."

"Oh," Erwin said, as if it really was that simple. "Is that why Dad has that armor's head in his office?"

"Yeah."

Erwin continued to sift through the photographs, and Winry answered his questions off-handedly, albeit honestly. Watching Erwin live his childhood made her feel as if she were watching Ed live his childhood. A childhood that had been wrenched away by one mistake. All he'd wanted was to see Trisha again, but

He was naïve, and he had to learn the truth the hard way.

Hohenheim's absence hadn't helped. Even though he'd admitted to calling him "Dad" once, just once, right before he pulled Al's body out of the void, the vulnerability of not having someone to look up to had taken a toll on his confidence. When she was pregnant with Erwin, Ed was constantly freaking out about not being able to live up to expectations. He was afraid of turning into Hohenheim, she knew. So far, though, he was doing a pretty good job of being himself. Sometimes, he even reminded her of Hughes.

Wendy pulled on a strand of her hair, and she was forced to pay attention to the bundle of playfulness on her lap. "That's hair, sweetie," she cooed, "can you say 'hair'?"

"Hay-ah?" Wendy questioned, her blue eyes with golden specks in them widened in question.

"That's right! Hair," Winry said again, causing the child to giggle. "Can you say 'mommy'?"

Wendy scrunched up her face in confusion. "M-ma?" she said, poking Winry on the cheeks with her chubby fingers.

"Yes! That's right!"

Her children, so precious to her that she'd give her life to keep them safe, to make sure they would never have to go through the horrors she and Ed had had to go through, they were in front of her right now. Living their life to the fullest, enjoying the childhood they took for granted.

The front door could be heard as it opened, and Ed's voice floated over the smell of grease. "I got the groceries, Win," he called, obviously walking toward the kitchen. "Winry? You in the workshop?"

Wendy babbled something in return, and Ed's footsteps followed the noise.

Perhaps this was it. The perfect time to tell him.

" _What?! For real?"_ Al's voice came scratchy and distant over the phone all the way form Xing. _"Brother, Wendy is just 14 months. Are you sure?"_

Ed flashed Winry a bright smile where she was teaching Wendy new words. She'd just been talking for two days, but she was making progress. "She said she found out a month ago, Al," he said into the receiver.

" _Whoa,"_ Al said. _"Just seven years and you guys are already having three kids. Not that I'm surprised, to be honest. I bet if you had your way you'd have seven kids by now."_ There was a playful but honest edge to his voice which made Ed turn a shade of red he hadn't turned in a long time.

"W-what do you mean by that, Alphonse?! That's… you… I'm not…"

Al laughed heartily on the other side. _"I know, I know. I have to say. Winry's more dominant than I thought. But, we digress. Brother,"_ his voice dropped to a whisper, _"if it's a boy you have to let me name him."_

This had Ed sobered. "Why? What would you name him?"

" _Edwin, of course,"_ Al said matter-of-factly. _"That's the one perfect combo of your names."_ In the background, Ed could hear Mae swooning.

He watched his family from the shelf that supported the telephone. Erwin was now asking Winry question after question about why his father was so happy all of a sudden, and when she gave him an answer, even Wendy yelled "Baby!" When Ed had thought he couldn't get any happier, Winry had told him about her newest pregnancy. She was already two months along. He had felt that old fear crawling up inside him again. Could he be a good father?

Ed sighed into the receiver, saying, "I don't know, Al. You'll have to talk to Winry about this."

Al snorted into the line. _"Bullshit, Ed. You didn't let me name Erwin that. How dense can you two possibly get?"_

"And what if it's a girl?"

" _I'll come up with something. Man, I really am missing their childhood, aren't I?"_

Childhood, Ed thought, was such a sensitive thing. Winry hadn't deserved to be orphaned. Al hadn't deserved to have his body taken away. But these things had happened. What they deserved wasn't something he had any strength over. His kids, however, were a whole different story. He could protect them and their childhood. And that was exactly what he planned to do.

"You most definitely are, Alphonse Elric."


	2. Day 2: Alchemy or Automail

_The idea is all that's mine._

* * *

Alchemy and Automail  
(Day 2: Alchemy or Automail)

As Sir Edward Elric walked to the conference hall, where he'd been summoned by Sir Mustang for an all-important discussion, he reminisced on his life in the country-side. Rush Valley considered herself a kingdom apart from Amestris, and he had been friends with none other than the Princess of Automail Kingdom. He remembered the years they had spent playing in the streets of the valley town, and on top of the hill named Resembool, where the Princess and her Grandmother, Queen Pinako Rockbell of Automail, lived.

When he had messed up his as well as his brother, Sir Alphonse Elric's life, while attempting to recreate their life with their deceased mother with the use of Amestrian glory, alchemy, princess Winry had come to his aid. With her kindness and beautiful golden hair and sapphire blue eyes, and her skill with automail making, she'd given him the limbs he'd lost. And she'd given his brother, whose soul was trapped in a suit of armor, the same warmth and hospitality she had before it all went wrong. Could he ever be grateful enough?

He, a mere peasant, had embarked on a journey to restore his brother's body, and had more than once destroyed her gift. But she persevered, and gave him a new automail every time.

Would he ever be able to pay her back?

"Brother," Alphonse said beside him. "What are you day dreaming about?" There was a sly smile on his face. He was now a man of flesh and blood, which he hadn't been only a few months prior. Edward was so happy and grateful to have a brother like him, who acted as a guardian despite being the younger sibling. Princess Winry had been so happy to see them in complete again.

"I am not day dreaming about anything, Alphonse. I wish you would think me more responsible than to day dream," he replied with mock mortification.

Presently, they came to the door of the conference room. He rapped the polished mahogany with the hand that had been gone for four years. Sir Mustang's voice was heard faintly admitting them. Pushing the double doors open, the Elric brothers entered.

Sir Mustang, knighted the hero of the battle of Ishval, sat at one of the many seats put up in the room in case a conference involving all the knights of Amestris were called. His aide and second in command, Lady Hawkeye stood at attention behind him. Other than the four of them, the chamber was empty. Confused, Edward asked, "I was under the impression that King Bradley had summoned you and asked you to summon me.

Sir Mustang smiled. "I can understand why you would be under that impression, Edward," he said, "but it is not so. I have summoned you to discuss something that is of your personal interest."

"Personal?" Alphonse asked, also confused. "It has nothing to do with me either?"

"Yes, Alphonse," Mustang said, letting lose a tired breath. "It has nothing to do with you." Lady Hawkeye handed her superior a piece of parchment. "However, it does involve someone you are both acquainted with, so I decided to have you both in the discussion."

The two brothers gazed at each other, confusion prevailing yet. Then, they took seats opposite their superior on the table that sat in the middle of the room.

"So, what is this that you want to discuss?" Edward asked.

Mustang turned to gaze at Hawkeye who said, "In all honesty, Edward, this is much more of a proposition than a discussion."

She was as beautiful as ever in white. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. He only repeated the vows absentmindedly after the priest, and she laughed at his lost-in-a-daydream behavior. This was what Mustang had in mind, uniting Rush Valley with the rest of Amestris by means of an alliance, and how better to form an alliance than by marriage? Edward, representing the monarchy of Amestris, with the best experience from both ends, was to marry the Princess of Automail. He had been more than willing to comply.

Just as they were about to seal the covenant with a kiss, however, his Princess said, with a hand on his cheek, "Ed, Re you going to wake up or do I have to splash water on you?"

Thinking it a joke, Edward proceeded to kiss her.

"That does it," she said rather loudly, and emptied a pitcher of water on his head.

Ed jumped out of bed gasping. He looked around, and the finery of the alter in the backyard of the palace on top of the hill was gone. He was no longer in his knightly garb, but a pair of sweatpants, and Winry towered over him, pitcher in hand, the sheer white veil of her wedding dress gone as well.

"What the hell were you dreaming about so late into the morning, Sir former State Alchemist?" she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, the humongous wrench suddenly held in a threatening manner where there had been nothing just a moment before.

Gazing at her, when at any other time would have made him want to run away, now just made him realize how beautiful she was. Just like the Princess of Automail. He was aware he had turned a bright shade of red because of the heat around his collar, despite the absence of a shirt. He looked away before mumbling, "N-nothing." He then proceeded to pull the covers back over his head and pretend to go back to sleep.


	3. Day 3: 85 percent

_The only things I own are the plot and the Rio kid. This oneshot is also up separately in it's own name, but for a change, I decided to leave out something at the end this time._

* * *

It's Not Equivalent Exchange  
(Day 3: 85%)

Winry woke with a smile on her face. Today was the day. After two whole years of waiting on phone calls and telegrams, today was the day he was coming back home. She mentally went through the list of things to do while dressing. She'd wear her hair down today, the way he liked it.

The whole of Resembool seemed to be bustling with excitement today. Their Hero was coming back; the kid who saved the country at the age of sixteen and brought back his younger brother's body by sacrificing his alchemy for it. He was now a man of twenty, and he was possibly dozing in his seat on the train back from the West. He was coming nonetheless. Winry heard his name at almost every alley and turn, and at every shop she entered at the market.

"Edward Elric. Yes! That's Trisha's kid!"

"He used to be my best buddy at school!"

"Sir Edward is the greatest gentleman ever!"

Winry smiled at the last one. Gentleman? More like the most obnoxious brat ever. Even now she wondered how he managed to out-tall her with his passionate hatred for milk. He was as tall as Fuhrer Mustang.

She looked through her list of groceries and realized she hadn't bought two of the most important things. Milk for the stew and apples for the pie. She went on ahead to the store that sold them best. However, on reaching said shop she hesitated. Someone she did not want to cross paths with was standing just outside.

Jerrico Rio.

He was studying to become a doctor at the city, and was here on vacation as far as she knew. She ignored him to the best of her ability. He had approached her a few weeks after Ed left for the West, saying he wanted to get to know her. Saying only doctors could understand their own kind.

Shaking the memory off, she entered the shop.

"Oh, hello, Winry! Apples again?" asked the kind elderly shopkeeper.

"Yes, please," Winry replied with a smile. "Also, a couple of cartons of milk."

The old lady smiled knowingly and packed her order. Winry had hoped to get away just as she came into the shop, by ignoring Jerrico. He, however, had other plans. He approached her as soon as she stepped out of the cozy grocery store.

"Winry," he said. "There is something I need to talk to you about."

She stopped, rather annoyed. "I'd appreciate it if you called me 'Miss Rockbell', Mr. Rio." They used to be on first name basis, when he did not think medicine was the only noble profession in the world. He looked down on almost every other profession; the military, engineering, and alchemy especially. Automail made out of the black list merely because of its connection to medicine.

All of this, he said when he tried to make a move on her, two years ago. And every second he spoke after that she wished throwing a wrench at somebody's head was not a criminal offence.

His onyx eyes seemed to freeze for a moment before he recomposed himself.

"Miss Winry, please. Don't take this as something inappropriate-"

"What do I take this as, then? I think I made it quite clear the last time we met that I don't want to interact with you," she replied coldly.

"Miss Winry," he began again, "please, don't misunderstand me. I only want you to see that the world is not limited to Resembool and your small neighborhood…"

"And you are implying? That I live cooped up in a cage?" She was getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"That is the essence of it, since you refuse to look beyond a childhood crush," he finished flippantly.

He did not know that this woman that he was supposedly trying to woo carried a wrench heavy enough to crack a skull. Where she carried it was a mystery, but the contact it made with his head made him wish he was still in East City Medical School, fantasizing about a confession gone right for change.

* * *

Edward stepped out of the train expecting to see blond hair and blue eyes. He was greeted by thinning gray hair and squinty eyes behind spectacles instead.

"Hey, runt," Pinako said in greeting. "Welcome back."

"Tch. You're still going to call me runt, hag?" he said pulling his suitcase in behind him.

"Oh, you'll always be a runt, kid. If you didn't already know that. You're just a milli-runt now instead of a micro one," the old woman replied with a playful smirk on her face. At this, Ed smiled and hugged her.

"It's good to be back, Granny." He held the suitcase away so Pinako would not attempt to take it from him. She was getting old after all. Her hair looked grayer than he remembered it. "Where's Winry?" he asked peering around, expecting her to jump out any moment.

"Win got caught up in something at the market. She ended up hitting some guy over the head with her wrench. She's busy talking care of that mess."

"Oh," he mumbled, something deflating inside him. He'd had time to slowly build on what he'd said on the day he left. 85%. That was a lot. She would kill him for the grime his automail leg collected on the way back. Nothing less than a smack in the head with the biggest wrench in her possession. As disappointing as her absence was, on the bright side he'd get a bit more time to prepare. What would it be like to talk her face to face? The only thing he'd said to her after his confession was, "I'll be going now."

If one could even call that a confession.

"Yo, milli-runt!" Pinako called from the end of the platform. "You going to stand there gawking at the pavement all day?"

"Coming!"

They went to the graveyard first. A pair of tombstones greeted them with names as familiar as themselves. Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim.

"You really are good for nothing," Ed said standing over his father's tombstone. "Leaving us to fend for ourselves again and again." He remembered how Hohenheim had offered to sacrifice himself for Al on the promised day. Four years. It did not feel like that long. He remembered he'd cried that day, possibly the only time he called Hohenheim 'dad' and meant it. Even though it was preceded by a 'good-for-nothing'. Ed smiled at the memory. "Good-for-nothing dad."

"Did I tell you about the day we found him?" Pinako said, coming up beside Ed.

"Yeah. You've told me about a couple o' billion times already," he said with a scoff in his voice. He'd turned away, but Pinako knew he was smiling and trying not to cry at the same time. "Let's go home, granny."

* * *

Winry frowned at the rust stains on the metal limb. "I thought I told you to keep it oiled and dry all the time." She stood at the side of her bed with her arms akimbo. Ed sat reclined on her bed, legs spread out on the bedspread.

"I did!" he said defensively. "It's the just that the last couple of days I haven't gotten the time. I've been on the move, see?" There was a sheepish edge to his word. He did not dare utter that he got stuck in the rain and was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he got on the train. Ed watched as Winry huffed, then sighed, and finally retrieved a bottle of oil from her work table.

"At least you didn't break it this time," she said while rubbing the rust off slowly. The smell of grease pervaded the room, mixing with the aroma of apple pie and then taking over.

She had rushed to the door the moment he arrived, and her frazzled posture was instantly replaced with a bright smile. Now, it was just after lunch, and Pinako had gone off to the station once again, along with Den. Al was coming in from the East. They'd barely managed to date their arrivals on the same day.

"So, Winry," Edward started.

"Hmm?" she mumbled not looking up.

Ed felt overly conspicuous, even though she was facing his leg and no one else was in the room. His heart rate accelerated despite his protests. "About t-that day…"

At this she paused and looked up. "What about it?"

Ed was pretty sure his face resembled a tomato. "Are you sure it's not too much? 85%?" he blurted. She blinked a couple of times, and he mentally face-palmed. _This was so much better in my head._

"How many times have we had this conversation?" she asked, exasperated. "Really, Ed. I'm not going to go and leave you in the middle of the rain, you know?"

It was a metaphor. They both knew that rain made the Flame Alchemist as useless as a doormat. But that was not the point here. They also knew that bad weather was a con for automail.

"What happened at the market today?" Ed asked after a while. "I was under the impression that the wrench was only meant for me to get hit by." There was a playful note in his voice, despite the slight blush lingering on his face. Over the years, as his height was no longer subject to ridicule, he'd developed a habit of teasing her from time to time. It was fun, imagining her face turning a bright shade of red as she stuttered.

Her reaction this time did not disappoint.

"N-nothing serious. Just a guy being obnoxious." She went back to tending his leg.

"What do you find more obnoxious than my height?" he replied with a smirk.

"When someone calls you 'just a childhood crush'!" she snapped, her fiery eyes shooting up to meet his. They stared at each other for one full minute before her cheeks reddened and eyes widened. Abruptly, she shot up from the bed, upending the oil container by mistake. Ed would have laughed if it were not for the huge blotch of grease now smearing her pristine white sheets.

Winry stared at the splotch with her mouth agape. "Ugh!" she said slumping. And Ed finally burst out laughing uncontrollably. "This isn't funny, Ed!" She fumbled to soak up the oil before it seeped into the mattress.

"S-sorry," he said between barks of laughter. "You just look too cute!"

Winry winced. "Never on the bed. Never again," she mumbled. "Come on. We're going to the living room."

"What happened to the room you usually use for maintenance?"

Winry sighed. "Well, let's just say the guy at the market has a much thinner skull than you, and this is the closest place for first aid." She gathered her tools and headed downstairs. Ed followed like a loyal puppy.

"So, you ended up taking care of a guy whose skull you cracked? Man. That is irony on so many levels," he lamented while sitting on the couch with his automail extended on the length of it and the other leg dangling. She drew up a stool and began to inspect the individual screws. "What exactly did he say that got you so mad?" Ed said in a serious tone.

Winry stopped again. "How many times are you going to interrupt this, Ed? Can't we talk about this later?" she said through clenched teeth. A vein had popped up on her temple.

"I don't think so, Win. Later, you'll be busy in the kitchen or most probably with a new piece of automail." Casting a knowing glance, he added with a fond tone under his breath, "machine junkie."

"Fine," she drew out the word in an exasperated manner. "I guess you deserve to know."

He arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you've been keeping secrets now?"

"Cut the teasing if you want to hear it," she said with a glare, then continued. "So you remember the Rios?"

"I think so?" he said uncertainly.

"Their son, Jerrico. He's studying to become a doctor at East City. He showed up at our doorstep a couple of months after you left. I don't know how he managed to get me alone, but once he did he said he wanted to 'have me', in the sense." At this point she had to stop to gently prod his metal kneecap with the wrench in her hand. Ed had practically frozen in place. "You with me?"

He blinked a couple of times before nodding slowly.

"So, I turned him down. I've already promised you 85%. But then he starts to spew all this nonsense about medicine being the only profession with any values in it. What I got from there was that he despises the military and pretty much every other profession. And for some reason, he thinks alchemy is the worst. He is under the impression that between you and me it's just infatuation and that you can never make me happy because only the same kinds of people can really understand each other and all that shit." She took a deep breath. "I told him to get lost and never show his face to me as politely as I could."

"Then?"

"And he did. But he shows up at the market place today and says that I 'refuse to look beyond a childhood crush'." She sighed again. "I regret hitting him with the wrench. I really do. But it's not those words that pissed me off. It was the implication that _he_ knows what's good for me better than I do."

The room was quiet for a few minutes except for the soft metallic swish of Winry's wrench tightening or loosening some screw. When she looked up Ed was obviously deep in thought. The pensive expression caused dread to seep into her system. Over all these years, she had never once seen a look quite like this one on his face, and it worried her.

Al's lively laugh broke the thickening silence. Granted, it came to them through two separate brick walls, but it still managed to bring warmth with it.

Winry put her tools away, declaring Ed's automail back on optimal "Ed-durable" shape, and Ed went to put on a longer pair of pants before heading to the door to greet his brother back from the Xingese land of love and alkahestry.

* * *

A mischievous grin made its way to Edward's face as Al finished showing and explaining an intricate transmutation circle constructed with the help of his newfound alkahestric knowledge. The younger Elric was saying as much about his Xingese master as he was about the theory behind the array spread out on the table between of them.

"May was really adamant about me doing the entire thing by myself. I have to say she is one feisty teacher," Al finished with an accomplished smile. "Did I tell you she's just a head shorter than me now?"

"Well," Ed started, his voice dripping with every bit of mischief he could muster. "You _have_ been talking about her a lot, Alphonse Elric."

Al's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink at Ed's suggestive smile. "S-she is a very generous host. And, remember Shao May? She's actually a panda. There a tons of pandas in Xing, though most of them are a lot larger-"

"Nice try changing the subject, Al," Winry interjected. "Honestly, though. It's obvious who is head-over-heels for whom." She and Ed shared a knowing look before bursting into fits of giggles and howling laughter respectively. Al's blush only deepened.

He had a comeback right at the tip of his tongue when Pinako's voice sounded from a room down the hall.

"Winry, the Rio kid's awake!" she called. This stopped both laughing parties. Al felt an invisible tension crawling into the space between his brother and Winry.

"C-coming, Granny," she replied nervously. There it was again. That look on Ed's face that made her dread every move she made toward the door separating the kitchen and the hall. The moment she turned the knob, though, she heard a chair being scraped across the wooden floor. Ed stomped out of the room right past her, and strode rather noisily to the room he and Alphonse were supposed to share.

"What's going on?" Al asked uncertainly, making her face him.

For the first time in years, Winry did not know what to say.

* * *

Ed was in the room, but he had no idea what to do now. The moment Pinako had uttered that name he felt the uncertainty flooding back in. He did not know how to meet Winry's eye, or even Al's for that matter. He'd wanted to storm into the room they were using as the makeshift emergency room and demand an explanation. But what would he demand the explanation for?

The guy probably had a point. Because, really, she promised him 85%, but he hadn't stepped one foot beyond 50.

Ed paced the room, sat on the bed, pulled out his diary to take a look at his notes, opened the window and then closed it again, all in an attempt to calm the dread. What reason did Winry have to choose him? He was battered and beaten. Nightmares from almost a decade ago still haunted him. He'd committed taboo. He was still considered a dog of the military by some people. And he was nowhere near proving the 10+1 rule.

The other guy, on the other hand. What was his name again? Jerrio?

"Ed," Winry's voice came slicing through all the noise in his head. "Could you keep the pacing down a bit? I'm trying to treat someone with a cracked skull here!"

That was it. He couldn't stay in here anymore. Ed barged out of the room, flinging the door open with force that tested its hinges, and rushed past a very confused Al out of the house. However, at the bottom step, right next to the wooden sign saying "Rockbell Automail", he found himself unable to move. He realized he had practically not seen a thing after the flinging the door open. His breath came in pants, and he knew he had been momentarily blinded by some sort of anger.

"Brother," Al said a step behind him. One of Al's hands was on his shoulder. His voice mildly masked concern, and managed to blend confidence in it as well somehow. "I know something's wrong. You want to talk about it?"

Ed exhaled slowly, the tension around his shoulders dissipating a little. The cool breeze of the night helped as well. He nodded.

They sat down a little to the side of the path within earshot of the house facing away. Al had offered to go to the graveyard, but Ed refused, saying Mom didn't need to worry about something like this. So, that is where they sat while Ed filled him in about Jertico Rio or whatever his name was.

"I see where this is coming from," Al said once Ed seemed to be done with the filling in. "After all these years, a competition you didn't expect. No wonder you're so cranky." He shook his head in a way that said, "Why am I not surprised?"

Ed sighed in a way that said, "No, you don't get it at all."

At this, his younger brother frowned. "Really? What am I missing, then?"

"What bothers me isn't that he had the guts to approach her. She is an amazing person. I wouldn't be surprised if tons of these guys came up to this porch every week." He paused, gathering his thoughts before putting them into words. Then, he lowered his voice involuntarily. "It's the possibility that I'm holding her back."

Alphonse stared at his older brother, trying to read the more subtle parts of his reasoning. He had on almost the same expression that he did after the failed transmutation over eight years ago. Except now, he did not look like he would give up on life. He just looked lost.

"So," Al began warily, "you're saying that Win probably deserves Mr. Rio. That he deserves her more than you do?"

Ed was looking at his hands. At times, he felt like he could still clap his hands together and change the shape of any material he wanted to. At times, when he felt the screws in his shoulder digging in, it almost seemed as if the automail arm was still there. He could move his hand, but could not feel anything. "I don't know, Alphonse," he finally said in a small voice, the breeze snatching it away from his mouth before he knew it. "Sometimes it feels like nothing's changed, like I'm back in that wheelchair, with no idea about what's going to happen next. And today it's worse than ever." He looked up, the lost expression never leaving his face. "Everything we've been through seems so useless right now. I haven't felt like this since that day."

Al did not have to be told which day he was talking about. He contemplated what to say in order to make his brother see the stupidity of the whole situation, and Ed's perspective to be precise.

The silence was broken by a faint whoosh coming their way. Al saw an object gaining a metal gleam from the lights inside the house before hitting the older Elric on the head with a very audible _thunk!_ The object, which he now isolated as ridiculously huge wrench, bounced off the golden locks and into the grass.

"OWW!" Edward all but screamed, throwing both his hands up to the spot where the wrench had made contact and turning around simultaneously. "WHAT THE HELL WOMAN! YOU WANT TO KILL ME?!"

"BETTER THAN HEARING YOU SAY YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A WASTE!" came a shrill reply from the second floor balcony of the house they called home. Alphonse was not at all surprised to find a fuming Winry standing at the balcony. He was, however surprised to see tears streaming down her face.

Edward stared incredulously for a moment, entranced by the way tear drops glistened in the light filtering out from inside. He found his voice when Winry began to hiccup.

"H-hey," Ed croaked. "D-don't cry dammit. I'm sorry!" He was up and running toward the house now, hands waving in front of him in a defensive manner. Another wrench flung out from the balcony and hit him squarely on the forehead. He caught this one as it bounced off, rubbing at the spot absently with his free hand.

"Like hell, am I listening to you!" she replied equally heatedly. "I don't have to abide by _your_ promise if you're so intent on breaking it, pipsqueak!"

Al, who watched with a mix of surprise and nostalgia at their antics, noted how Ed's posture stiffened at the insult. He let a smile make its way to his face. Sighing, he told himself, "Well, as long as it gets him back on track."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE CAN ROLL DOWN THE HILL ON A BUTTON?!" Ed screamed in a fit of induced insecurity. Then, regaining his composure just a little, he added, "In case you haven't noticed, Miss Automail Princess, I'm HALF A HEAD taller than you are!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" she declared in a challenge before turning to go inside with a flourish. "And bring my wrenches in with you while you're at it."

* * *

Once he was inside, Ed was forced to keep his voice down, consequently dousing the anger at the insult. The two wrenches to the head had made him see sense. And he actually went and spoke to Jerrico, albeit getting his name wrong at least ten times.

The crack was minor, but the next day the Rockbells insisted that he go see a professional doctor at the city.

"I apologize," Jerrico said turning to Winry before leaving. "For angering you. I honestly didn't think things through." Alphonse had alchemized a crutch for him, seeing as he could easily lose his balance. He leaned on it to cast a wary glance toward Edward, who was standing near the back of the room, arms crossed over his chest. "I've always had my academics speak for me. This, as far as I thought, wouldn't be any different. But that is obviously not the case."

"Whatever, kid. Just make sure the next girl you set eyes on isn't taken," said a smirking Pinako. This sent Al into a fit of good-humored laughter while Jerrico scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. The other two could barely contain the color rising to their cheeks.

"I'll keep that in mind, Mrs Rockbell," Jerrico said. "Again, I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."

"I'm sorry, too. For hitting you out of the blue," Winry said, and was about to continue when Jerrico cut her off.

"From your point of view, I think it was justified."

Ed nodded slowly from his leaning position against the wall. The talk was working.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Jerrico announced. "Mrs Rockbell, Miss Winry, Alphonse. And I better not have to call her 'Miss' next time, Mr Fullmetal."

* * *

Since Alphonse could only stay for a month before returning to Xing to continue his studies, it was only a matter of convenience to visit every person he could in the duration of his home-coming. They sat in living room of the apartment that served as the Hughes residence. A seven year-old Elicia jumped about excited as she showed them her schoolwork; assignments that detailed on the happenings of the promised day. At least the details that made it out to the public.

"Everyone in my class was really excited when I told them I knew you two, Uncle Ed!" she declared just as Gracia brought in the tea on a tray. "They wanted to know if it's true you were a shorty."

Everyone chuckled at the face Ed made at the comment. "I guess it's hard to get off the past, huh?" he said at last, exasperated.

They fell into a comfortable conversation, Al doing most of the filling in and Ed adding overly personalized commentary. Even though Gracia had little understanding in the ways of alchemy, she listened intently as one of them explained some aspect of it.

As they began to run dry on Xingese animals to talk about, Al pulled a string Ed had no idea he could pull, especially in that way.

"Did you know that Brother proposed to Winry before setting off for the West?" he quipped suddenly, eyes darting to his older brother with a mischievous glint.

Gracia's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh, my. Did you, now?"

"N-no!" Ed said defiantly. "It wasn't a proposal, _Alphonse._ I'm surprised you would put it like that," he added through gritted teeth.

"Really, Brother?" he said with a faux innocent smile which made his intentions glaringly obvious. "Then, what was it? Care to elaborate?"

"W-well," Ed began, his throat feeling as dry as sand. "I'd say it was more of a confession. Or a commitment, now that I think about it." In reality, he had thought about that day a lot, especially after the Rio incident. He kept telling himself that it wouldn't matter how many guys came and asked Winry for her hand. She would turn them all down; that was as much as she'd told him herself. However, when he thought about it, he realized that Rio was the only guy _she_ had told him about. The others, he'd heard about from Pinako or Garfiel. And every time he heard about their extravagant endeavors he felt something clawing at his insides.

He didn't need a psychiatrist to tell him what this feeling was because he'd seen his face in the mirror. It looked alarmingly like the face the May had made when she saw Winry crawling out from inside Al.

He had to stop feeling that way, and the long-term solution was-

"So, when _will_ you ask her?" Elicia inquired, drawing him away from the introspection.

"I was planning to pick up a ring while we're here," he said evenly, despite the blush threatening to take over his face. "Since I can't alchemize one anymore. That would have been very convenient."

"I could do it for you," Al offered.

"No, Al." Ed said, his eyes flitting to the clock on the wall. Winry had insisted on meeting Captain Hawkeye before heading to the Hughes' later for lunch. It was almost time for her to show up. "This is something I have to do by myself."


	4. Day 4: Modern Day

_The only things I own are their phones, the texts, the school and the prom._

* * *

He's Definitely Retarded  
(Day 4: Modern Day AU)

It had taken her half the day to get half her homework done. Now, with the sky dimming to twilight, Winry scrolled through the apps on her phone and wondered if she should get working on the remainder of it. Originally, she had planned to have Prom Day completely free. No homework, no chores, no machine parts to oil. Originally. Because, Originally, she'd thought a certain _idiot_ would ask her to Prom.

She sighed. Well, she had perhaps hoped for too much. Prom was tomorrow, and since he hadn't asked yet he probably wouldn't.

The crossword she was trying to solve was easy at some parts, and one of these words were "a flower usually known to have thorns". _Easy._ She thought. _Rose._

And that was when an unwelcome thought invaded her mind. Ed had been hanging out with Rose a lot, especially after Cain, her boyfriend, died of cancer. Rose had almost given up on living, but Ed managed to talk some sense into her. They'd become more than just classmates soon after.

What if _she_ was the one he asked to prom?

The thought of Rose clinging to Ed's arm in one of those showy dresses with billowing skirts, waltzing across the makeshift dance floor in the gym, smiling like they owned the world, made her angry. Angry enough to make her want to throw her phone across the room. As if it was the phone's fault for bringing her that thought.

The next moment, though, she composed herself. So what if it's her he's taking? It wasn't like she'd ever told him about her feelings. She couldn't expect him to just _know_ , being as dense as he was.

She sighed dejectedly. Looked like she was going to have to go through with what she told Miss Hawkeye after all. College prep on prom night.

It was a good thing she was saving some of her homework, she decided. And granny would be home with Den. It wouldn't be completely boring. They could maybe binge watch their favorite TV show together.

And in the off chance that Ed _hadn't_ asked Rose, he would come over too. And she would probably not feel so betrayed.

That was when her phone began to buzz in her hands. It was a call from _guess who._

She had half to heart to not answer, or, better to reject the call. But she decided against it. He was probably stuck with his Biology homework.

"Hey, Winry," he said as soon as she put the phone to her ear. "What color suit should I wear tomorrow night?"

 _Tomorrow?_ She thought, the anger seeping back into her. _So he_ did _ask someone else._

He sounded excited and nervous at the same time. He probably really liked whoever he was going with. She took a deep breath. What he thought about what she did was the last thing on her mind, but she did want to give him a piece of her before he went on his prom night date.

"How should I know?" she replied rather coldly. On the other side of the line she could almost hear him going still in confusion. _Confusion?_

"W-well, we have to match so…" he started warily. "What color is your dress?"

"My dress?"

"Yeah," he said as if that was the most natural thing to ask in the world.

Now it was her turn to stop and think in confusion. Why would he be asking about _her_ dress? Was he talking about something else? Had she missed something?

"Ed," she said warily, "you _are_ talking about prom, right?"

"Duh."

A few minutes passed in complete silence, during which Winry was trying desperately to make sense of what Ed was saying. A plethora of thoughts ran through her mind, the bottom line of all of which was this:

He wanted to take her to prom. _He_ wanted to take her to prom. He _wanted_ to take her to prom. He wanted to take _her_ to prom. He wanted to take her to _prom._

All she could do to keep from squealing in delight was one thought. He hadn't asked her, so why was he acting like he had? She had to know. But how would she phrase it?

"Uh, Winry?" Ed said, finally breaking the silence. "You there?"

"Y-yeah," she replied hurriedly. Then, very cautiously, she asked, "Hey, since when are we going to prom?"

"Huh?" he said, and a series of clicks followed his one word response. From what Winry could tell, he was probably going through something on his phone. An entire minute later, his voice came, a bit distant from the speaker, "Shit."

Winry's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What, 'shit', Ed?"

Ed laughed nervously, and she could almost hear it across the walls separating them. She knew that he was trying to cover up whatever slip up he'd caused, but the laugh only served to grit on her nerves.

" _Edward—_ "

"Okay, okay, let me explain," he said in one breath. Winry got up from her bed and moved the curtains away from the window. She could see Ed's silhouette moving behind the curtains in his room. He was pacing, obviously thinking of any excuses he could make. Oh the perks of living practically next to his room.

"I'm _waiting_ ," she said in warning.

Behind his curtains, he visibly gave up. "Ugh. Okay so… um… I wanted to ask you but I didn't know how, and then I thought I could text you and I did and you said yes. But now you were acting like you didn't know what I was talking about so I checked my text convos and the text isn't there!"

Winry felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. It was hard enough that he was going to literally jump from one thing to another while explaining, and he made it even harder by saying it so fast that the words almost blurred together.

He was definitely retarded.

Who the _hell_ asked their prom date through texts?

"I'm sorry, Win! I swear I was certain I'd texted you but I must've dreamt it and—"

"Edward Elric," she interrupted, successfully putting an end to the rambling. "Come to your window." Inside, his silhouette hesitated. " _Now._ "

He came up to the window and pulled the curtain away. His face was almost as red as a tomato as he pulled the window open as well. She remembered how he's blushed yesterday at lunch too, as he told her there was something he wanted to ask.

She opened her window as well, and put her phone away, disconnecting the call in the process. With her arms akimbo, Winry looked him in the eye.

"Now what did you want to ask me at lunch yesterday?" she said. Her voice was soft but impatient.

Ed looked at something on the inside of the wall immediately in front of him, seeming to consider which words to use. Finally, he looked up, the blush on his face darkening (if that was possible). "Come to prom with me!" he declared loudly, so loudly that Winry was sure Granny had heard it from downstairs.

She turned away to retrieve a spiral notebook from her desk. Opening it to a fresh page, she wrote one word in a large print, tore the page out and crumpled it into a ball. She threw it at him, hitting him squarely on the nose, and slammed the window shut.

He'd unraveled the paper ball by the time she was pulling up the curtains.

She was glad the lights in her room were turned off. He wouldn't see a silhouette as she slid down to the floor right under the window, barely containing the squeal that threatened to break free from her throat.

Almost a minute later, her phone buzzed with a text.

 _So, what color suit should I wear tomorrow night?_ It said.

For a moment she thought about it. Then, she knew the answer. She would wear her mom's prom dress; the navy blue sleeveless Granny had been saving for his very occasion.

 _Black._ She replied, and then got up to turn on the lights. Looked like she would have to pull an all-nighter if she wanted to be stress free tomorrow. She sighed. So much for a day off of social stimulus. But, she thought, at least he had asked. She was going to prom. With her longest standing crush.

Better late than never. Although, he really was retarded.

* * *

 _Inspired by: post/143271132026/starfieldcanvas-vangohing-my-best-friend_

 _This MIGHT turn into a big highschool/college AU. Dunno yet._


	5. Day 5: Wedding

_I just own the juice. Also, let me know if you think it needs fixing._

* * *

Sweet as Juice  
Day 5: Wedding

From where she sat, Winry could clearly see the many wooden planks and banners and streamers, now shrouded in shadows, which were brought in during the day. Their front yard was practically choked with them. Tomorrow, starting at the crack of dawn, Al and May and maybe even Edward would be working on them nonstop till the entire backyard was set up for the afternoon party.

One of those streamers, the one that was meant to go on top of the altar, read: "Winry Weds Edward".

Ed had originally wanted something more personal, like the engravings in their rings. The sleek thin metal band on her finger had felt a bit unfamiliar at first. For the umpteenth time, she slid it off to examine the words carved on the inside.

 _My Gearhead_ , they read. Fondly, while smiling at the feeling the first word left in her heart, she remembered the word's she'd carved into his ring with her own hands. _My Alchemy Freak._ Fondly, she also remembered the look of shock on his face while those words registered, and then the ecstasy.

That had been a month ago.

She'd kept really careful track of the time past, ever since that day when they came back from that hell-hole Central City had been on the Promised Day. Today was exactly four years, three months, eight days. Exactly one year, eleven months and three days ago, Ed had pulled that shit with "equivalent exchange", as he called it. Exactly seven weeks ago, Ed and Al had both come back to the "Rio" incident. Exactly one week before Al was due to leave for Xing again, Ed had finally gotten over the awkwardness Jerrico had pulled up and popped the question.

It was about as dark outside that day as it was now, Winry remembered, when he gestured for her to follow him out. It wasn't any cleaner than the train station incident had been, but at least it was something more definite.

They'd shared their first kiss in the shadows that night before Al figured out what was going on.

Later, Al called May long distance and explained the circumstances. Ed wanted to do this as fast as possible, but with the people they wanted to invite even a month's buffer time might end up being too little. Everyone argued with him. They'd be having guests from all over the country. Briggs, Liore, Dublith, Rush Valley, Central. And if matters permitted, even the Emperor of Xing would show up incognito. He couldn't possibly be serious if he thought just a week's time would be enough.

The past month had been nothing if not busy. Granny had insisted on bringing the two of them along when she practically went on touring the whole country, personally handing out invitations to her friends and their friends.

Even on the days they could stay home, there was almost no moment of respite. In retrospect, Winry found that almost every few minutes the phone would ring and someone would have to talk preparations of the ceremony to be held tomorrow. Or someone would show up at their doorstep to congratulate them

Talk about exhausting.

At the current moment, however, the house was peacefully quiet. Granny had taken Den off to the town with her. Some last minute grocery shopping, she'd said. Al and May were in town too, probably Al's idea of giving his brother and her fiancé some alone time.

The ring she held in her palm wasn't heavy, but it was definitely firm. This was actually happening. She and Ed were actually getting married.

Almost as if on cue, his footsteps made the floorboards behind her creak. But it was his words that pulled her out of her thoughts

"Hey, Gearhead," he said. "I got us some juice."

Slipping the ring on again, she took the glass he handed her. He then proceeded to sit down beside her. He took a sip from his glass of juice, and she couldn't help but watch silently.

They hadn't even realized when those childhood insults had turned into things that were meant so much more. They loved each other, yes, but sometimes she found it annoying how he practically disappeared in the ocean of alchemical notes and formulae. Maybe it annoyed him too, how she let automail distract her to the point that it became a threat to her well-being. However, she'd realized long ago that if they weren't the way they were, with their love and obsession over alchemy and automail respectively, they probably wouldn't love each other as much as they did.

"What are you staring at?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts. Again. "Nah. Just thinking about things."

She found, when she wasn't thinking about him, she was thinking about tomorrow.

"It's finally happening, huh?" He said. "We're… we're getting married."

Smiling at the way he still colored at the thought, she took a sip of her juice. "Did you make this?"

"Yeah," he answered, grateful for the change of subject. "Don't you like it?"

"You put in three spoonfuls, didn't you?" Of course he did. With his sweet tooth he probably put five spoonfuls in his own.

"Two and a half," he said defensively. "Still too sweet?"

Winry sighed. It was, indeed. But at least he was trying. "Two next time." She knew he would only ever stick with it as long as she wasn't pulling all-nighters. Then, he'd insist that she needed her calories.

She guessed she deserved it though. After all, this was her last day as Winry Rockbell. He owed it to her to be at least as sweet as her juice.


	6. Day 6: Promises

_It's the train of thoughts. Everything else os Arakawa's._

* * *

His Promises  
(Day 6: Promises)

That single ponytail reminded her of Hohenheim's. The clothes he wore were strikingly similar to his father's as well. Winry made a mental note to tease him about that later on. The smile Ed sported was the same goofy childish one he wore when he was really, genuinely happy. This time, it made her feel a lot warmer than she usually did at the collar. This time, it made her giddy.

Winry could still feel his arms around her; one on her back and one cradling her head. She could still feel that warmth. She could still smell his hair despite the yards of distance between them. His back was to her, one foot on the train and one on the platform, his briefcase slung against his back.

"You'd better call, Edward Elric!" she said, pointing one accusing finger at him.

He laughed heartily at her words, and there it was again, the feeling of confidence despite the odds. And she knew, however small, he was making another promise.

The engine whistled ad lurched forward just as his other foot left the platform. He hauled himself up, and within seconds disappeared inside. She stood watching the train pull away. With his knack for finding trouble, he'd probably be back soon, but not as soon as he did before.

"So they're off again, huh?" someone said from behind her. Winry recognized the older woman from town. "These boys never sit still, do they?" She gave Winry a knowing glance.

The etching on the inside of his pocket-watch had been a promise. A promise to see his mistakes through to the end. A promise to clean up the mess he'd made. "There's no turning back, Al," he'd said. And he was right. There was no hope of even getting close what they had achieved together if they, _he_ , hadn't been keen on keeping that promise. She'd felt that confidence, the presence of his strength that night as well, as they stood watching the burning beams of Hohenheim's house. She'd felt it in the softness of his voice when he called her an idiot for crying.

The uncontrollable fever after his automail was installed had been a promise. When, she knew, she felt as if his very existence was a lie; when he said he was sure the only remaining family he had hated him, but refused to give up. Because he had to set things right. She'd felt it in his desperate tears and gasping breaths as he came to terms with the pain.

The way his eyes lit up after Mustang's first visit had been a promise. A promise that he would not let an opportunity slip past even if his honor was on the line. She'd felt it in his determination to regain his strength one step at a time.

Him breaking his arm, his _automail_ arm, again and again had been a promise, although she didn't know of what. She'd felt it in the parts she welded together for him.

The way he held her the day she net Scar had been a promise.

His firm but melancholy gaze on her as she cried over Hughes' death had been a promise.

The expanse of his broad shoulders as he went off to cause trouble had been a promise.

The way he stood on the platform in Central, saying something that was drowned out by the whistle of the engine, pointing at her, had been a promise.

Her ear-cuffs, the scars on his body, his presence in her room after the months spent in Liore, these were all promises. Promises he'd kept.

What they'd just shared had also been a promise, because he had to get over the notion of equivalent exchange.

Winry smiled at the lady in front of her.

Who knew how many more pea-brained promises he'd made, and how many more he'd make.

"That's okay," Winry said, holding back her hair with a hand as she turned to face the now receding train. "Men who don't move are no fun."

At this point, she knew. However many stupid and outrageous promises that idiot half-Xerxian made, he'd keep them.


	7. Day 7: Family

_I don't own anything. Only the idea._

* * *

Family  
(Day 7: Family)

A soft wind was blowing, making the hanging edges of the white table cloths flutter. The longer grass on either side of the clearing fluttered as well. It was a shame they had to shorten the ones where the tables were set.

It was a good thing they had married in the season when it was neither too hot nor too cold. Edward would have thrown a tantrum otherwise, saying it was absolutely _not_ okay for her to sit in the sun in the heat or that the baby would be born with pneumonia if she sat out in the cold for too long. He was turning into Hughes.

Winry shook her head in fond exasperation as she watched the party from where she sat on the front steps of Granny's house, leaning against the railing for comfort. She did get tired very easily these days.

By the outer edge of the gathering, General Mustang and his gang loitered. He and Captain Hawkeye had barely managed to make it in time from Ishval to be able to change into comfortable clothing. Winry could tell they were both relieved from finding a way out of the desert. It showed in their relaxed postures. What made her smile, though, was the way he looked at Hawkeye. While Havoc made a joke about who-knows-what and the entire team laughed, Mustang quietly watched Hawkeye as if that was all the view he needed in the world.

Well, Winry couldn't blame him. She hadn't seen Miss Riza laugh so openly before either, and she had to say, she looked breathtaking.

The next moment, Rebecca soon-to-be-Havoc Catalina had caught whiff of her best friend's charm, and even from ten yards away, Winry could hear the indignant cry Ed's former superior let loose. More laughing ensued.

Ed was being hugged to death by a shirtless and very teary Colonel Armstrong. Granny flanked them, smiling nostalgically those at two, while Den and Black Hayate chased each other around her feet. Mr and Mrs Curtis were there too, looking on in earnest pride at the man her pupil had become. They'd been the first to arrive, even at their wedding, and the first to congratulate them on Winry's pregnancy. Somewhere behind them, Major General Armstrong sat at a chair with her legs crossed, in civilian clothing and very much bored. After Briggs, she thought, everything must look boring, at least in her strategy infested mind. Winry did catch her taking a deep breath of the fresh warm air looking content, however.

At the opposite side, where the food was set, Ling and Lan fan stood, piling up their plates for the umpteenth time. They were dressed in standard Amestrian clothing, in an attempt to stay incognito. They'd apparently sneaked away from their duties in Xing. Winry marveled at what friendship could do. Ling and Ed didn't seem to get along very well at first sight, but it was the bond they shared that had pulled Ling away from his imperial duties even during their wedding.

"Hey!" Ed screamed, drawing the attention of almost the entire party in his attempt to catch Ling's. "We didn't cook all that food for _only_ you! We have other guests, too!"

The subject of Ed's outburst was completely absorbed in his food, however, and didn't hear a word. Lan Fan promptly went a deep shade of red and tried to signal her Emperor with her eyes. That, too, failed.

"Oi! Don'tcha dare ignore me at my own party, dumbass!" Ed screeched again, but this time, Alphonse and May, who'd been sitting at a table with Gracia and Elicia, burst out laughing. Elicia was the first to join in, and soon everyone was laughing, all while Ed groaned in defeat.

Only when Paninya grabbed a piece of meat literally out of Ling's mouth did he pay any heed to anything anyone said about his appetite. Grumbling, he agreed to not eat any more till everyone else had eaten.

There were people who couldn't come. Garfiel had gotten caught up in an emergency and had to cancel his ticket. Rose had been exceptionally busy ever since the rebuilding of Liore started. Neither Dr Marcoh nor Dr Knox could make it, and neither could Scar or Miles, because not everyone could leave Ishval at the same time. But it was still a very merry company. All these people that had helped Ed and Al and her grow. She couldn't think of anyone else she wanted to be here, to witness Ed and Winry building a family together slowly but surely. She wished her parents were here, and also Ed's parents. They would have been so proud.

The breeze was making her drowsy, and she stroked her steadily rounding womb out of habit. Everyone was having fun. The happiness in and around the little house on top of the hill made her feel content.

That was when she felt it. It was small at first, and just one tiny bump. At once, all tiredness left her system. But the movement wasn't there anymore. She wondered if she'd imagined it, a wave of disappointment hitting her. And that was when she felt it again; stronger this time.

Winry sat up straight, both hands now on her swollen belly. This was definitely it, because she felt another kick. She looked up, ready to call out to Ed, only to find he was already at her side, worry in his furrowed eyebrows.

He'd probably noticed her going from tired to alert in an instant.

"What's wrong, Win?" he asked.

She looked around to find that the festive mood had transformed to concern. Even Ling had looked up from his food wide-eyed. Xiao May looked on from May's lap, frozen in the middle of maneuvering a weird dance move. Elicia and Gracia joined Edward on the bottom step.

Too awed to put it in words, Winry grabbed Ed's hand, his right hand, and placed it on her swollen stomach. A minute passed in silent suspense. Everyone watched with their breath held, even Ed.

The moment it happened, the entire hill erupted in joy. Even Olivier stared with her eyes wide in amazement. Pinako, Izumi and Gracia watched with tears in their eyes. May, Al, Rebecca, and even Mustang swooned. Elicia was right there beside Winry, both hands on her belly, waiting to feel the next kick that came. Colonel Armstrong was once again shirtless and in tears. Ed, however, kept alternating between looking her in the eyes and looking at his hands.

She knew what must be going on in his mind. It kicked. The baby kicked. _Their_ baby!

Ever since she'd found out three months ago, he'd been nothing but endearing. Over-protective. Sometimes even paranoid. But she could understand. He was tired of losing things and people he cared about.

This time, when he looked up, his eyes were brimming with tears. Happy tears, but tears nonetheless.

She drew him into a hug, and he proceeded to soak her dress. Winry looked around her. All these people who cared about them, even though some were worse at showing it than others, they were here now, to watch as they celebrated finding happiness after all those years of uncertainty and tragedy. That was when she knew that there couldn't possibly be a better family for her child to be born into.


End file.
